I'm Alece.

A Long Island girl who talks with her hands, dances in the car, and laughs too loudly. I care a little too much about a lot of things — social justice and good bourbon among them — and I live life with far more questions than answers.

At nineteen, I moved to South Africa. (People have called that brave. I think it was more a cocktail of faith, foolishness, and naïveté — but who's counting?) I stayed thirteen years and founded a nonprofit, Thrive Africa. Some of the best and the worst moments of my life happened on that beautiful continent, and it will hold my heart forever.

Home these days is Nashville, where I'm fairly convinced that living in Africa is exactly what prepared this Yankee to live in the South.

I share this messy, beautiful life with my husband Joe, our teenage son Eli, and Nugget, our slightly neurotic pup. You'll usually find the three of us in the stands at a Nashville Soccer Club match, hunting down our next great meal, or plotting a trip to wherever we can get ourselves to next.

By day, I run Rest Easy Nashville, a boutique firm that manages short-term rentals, and its guest-facing sister brand, Come Visit Nashville — thoughtfully hosted stays for visitors to Music City.

The fight against injustice never really let go of me. I serve on the Board of Directors of The Exodus Road, which fights human trafficking around the world — holy, gutting, hopeful work that I'm honored to have a hand in.

A lifetime ago, I founded One Word 365, a global community built around living intentionally, one word at a time. I've had to step away from it for now, but living on purpose is still how I try to move through the world.

And once upon a time, I was a writer. I hope to find my words again sometime soon. When I do, this is where you'll find them, in all their grit and glory.